[thorum]

The increase from 2019-2021 (+2 years) was higher than the increase from 2012-2019 (+7 years). I wouldn't want to make any specific claims about the cause, but clearly the pandemic or the response to the pandemic was involved somehow.

[tflinton]

Not necessarily. The CDC reported a sharp increase of stimulant prescriptions at the same time. Adjusted for population it’s not as dramatic as 2012 but still. Amphetamines are incredibly dangerous and cause heart failure and were being prescribed at an alarming rate until the last year.

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/72/wr/mm7213a1.htm